Advice needed estimating job!

[woberlin]

I have to quote a job, and would appreciate anyones input if they have done anything similar. I would prefer to do it by the hour, but the landscaping contractor needs a fairly accurate estimate. This job involves ripping out 110' of seawall, 4' tall, constructed of railroad ties, as well as about 200 square feet of steps and deck, also of railroad ties. What makes the job even more difficult is the extreme slope of the yard down to the wall. I will be using my excavator, a komatsu pc-75. I don't yet have a thumb installed on it, I know that that would make the job much easier and faster. Any ideas on how long it would take just to lift the ties out and dump them on the yard? Thanks! Bill

[littledenny]

I had a good reply going for you, then my computer locked up - hate it when that happens :eek2

The short version is that I took out a wall of ties roughly 70 feet long by 5 feet high, in a ninety minutes, using a small excavator with a thumb. Had a flat spot to sit on, on top, the wall was practically crumbling to begin with, and I simply swiveled to load the mess on a trailer.

As advice, I'd say that having to deal with good ties, especially if they are well nailed, sitting on a down slope, and not having a thumb will add time.

Are you going to reuse the ties, on site? Need to pull/cut the nails? Can you simply swing with a bite full, or do you have to travel some distance, back up hill, to drop them? I can think of several other variables that could impact your situation.

If I can figure out how to reduce the file size of my pix, I'll post a couple from this job.

Am curious as to what your constraints are, and what you have do go through to dispose of the old ties, assuming that's what you're doing. Around here, there's no good spot to dispose of old ties.

[kamerad47]

put the thumb on it will make the way faster!!!!!!